Never mind that last post, I just started a new game and the AI is building huge amounts of research facilities. I'm playing on a slightly larger map this time, but otherwise the settings are the same.
Why did I start a new game you ask? Well because the AI humiliated me in the last one
. I might have been ahead in technology but that did not save me from the Cue-Cappan fleet of 59 ships with missiles and fighters that suddenly entered my homesystem.
Anyhow, geat mod. the techtree (or what I've seen of it) is mostly the same as stock, but weapons and components have been tweaked a lot, and interesting new ones have been added. It seems far better balanced compared to stock and the AI does a very good job at using the new options it has. I'm looking forward to new versions